


The Soul Soul Boys

by saaurus



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, F/M, Flirting, Romance, jazz band, night club
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:26:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5246585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saaurus/pseuds/saaurus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is an ordinary night at the prestigious night club, Johnny's, where the hit jazz band, The Soul Soul Boys, have their performance like accustomed. But on this night, their music might lift up more than the spirits of those who come into the club to get away from their daily lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Soul Soul Boys

"Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for The Soul Soul Boys!"

The crowd exploded in applause by the announcer's call. Everyone's attention feasted in the rolling curtains up in the stage. The lights grew dimmer inside the club house as the appearance of five shadows on the stage made themselves present and slowly faded by the absence of light. 

The applause descended with the lights, the excitement reduced to small murmuring that disperse through the crowded tables. The shadows were immobile behind their instrument, their heads falling lightly down as if trying to hide their unmistakable faces from the crowd.

Everything was taken away when their lead monochromes fours snaps into the salon's silence and the music exploded into the room, as if the instruments themselves were the ones that lit the room back up. The crowd exploded in applause again and now confidently as they were able to see each one of the members of the band clearly and closer than ever.

The lead of the band, Ohno Satoshi, stood in the center, his hands folding fondly the vintage microphone. His head bobbed with his whole body into suave movements to the rhythm of his band mate’s instruments building the tune of the song, and when it came to his vocals, the room would burst by the sound of the most charming, gratifying and sensual voice. To his right laid the grand piano carried out by the most superb pianist, Ninomiya Kazunari. His hands flew on the keys without hesitation, each note erupting into he halls. His eyes would even shut as he enjoyed the sound his own fingers created, presuming of his own talent. 

Next to the Piano stood the saxophone, carried out by the one and only Aiba Masaki, one of the most prestige tenor saxophonists known from this part of town. His talent spread through the quality of his music. Beside him in the back and center of the stage was the drummer, Sakurai Sho, one of the most prestige students to graduate from the conservatory of music of Tokyo. His swift movements were a great example of class; truly a gentleman who possessed great talent. To his left stood the double bass, carried out by Matsumoto Jun, the most youngest and talented string player to whom his talents were given since birth. The amount of elegance in his swift finger was equalized to the amount of beauty in his looks. He was a finishing point among the band mates, portraying them image and class.

 

Each member shone in the stage their own way, each possessing something that would drag eyes and admiration to themselves, not even giving the crowd a chance to look at each for as much as they wished they could. The essence they spread across the room was alluring to their eyes and their music captivating for their ears. Each sound engaged their listeners into a delectable tune that thrilled them endlessly in their seats, in a way even their skin could feel the music brushing the air in the club.

As they played and sang about romantic nights and Love Parades, the crowd would emerge themselves in the images their instruments created, which transported them out of the night club and into the dark streets were they could see starry skies and cities illuminated by colorful lights. 

Everyone who ever was someone knew about The Soul Soul Boys and the wonders their music could perform. Everyone who ever wanted to escape from their reality knew where to go to replenish, and everyone did, every Saturday, close to midnight hours, at Johnny's, one of the most prestigious night clubs in the whole city. The entrance was reserved for those who had a place in society, leaving out some unfortunate. But rumors of The Soul Soul Boys ran in the streets like wild fire, being one of the most acclaimed artists in the city, although not everyone had the chance to see them and live the experience themselves. They were a great respected figure with honorable images. They were idols for the richest and most fortunate. 

~

That night was unlike others. Their performance went through perfectly, finishing in a great uproar of applause. As the crowd cheered for another song -since 3 encores hadn't been enough- they exit the stage and go back to their green room. Each of their stations was filled with gifts and flower arrangements overflowing with gratitude from some of their loyal fans, but they didn't take much mind.

After polishing their instruments, packing them safely back into their bags, drying the sweat from their foreheads, slightly ruffling their hair and straightening their suits, they left the green room and headed out back to the club. This time, they weren't performers but clients at the bar. After ordering their first cocktail, each of them shared a silent stare and slowly began to spread through the crowd, finding their own place of comfort. Some clients would gasp at the encounter of the stars now roaming among them, others, the regulars, would extend a hand in congratulation for their performance.

The majority of them wouldn't return their gratitude by words and settles with a thanking smile, which was more than enough for the people around them, specially the females who felt themselves melting by their piercing eyes, their bodies immune by the sight of such fine gentlemen. Once they had found their preferable place, where they would feel the least bothered and draw away from the attention. They knew this was only the start of their night.

~

There was one of them who stayed at the bar, his only plan that night was to drink the canteen down. This night had not been at it's best for him. After playing what seemed for everyone like the best gig that season, he was left to suffer on his own guilt for not giving his absolute best at their performance. That night, his fingers felt heavier than usual, making them hard for him to handle across the keys of his piano. These circumstances had cause for him to slip on notes or miss occasionally. Apparently, none of the members had notices, they were too busy on their own concentrating they didn't have time to listen to each and every note the other members played. Not even the crowd had seemed to notice, but this was thanks to how their own music absorbed them away and eased their tensions, relaxing them enough to not take mind of any casualties involving his failures. Of course, this weren't as big as he thought they were, but it was because he knew, heard them and did it himself that he couldn't forget it. 

His hand brings the alcoholic drink to his lips as he swallows it all to the glass end. The rush of the burning drink rose to his head, but he didn't mind it, although he knew he shouldn't be drinking as much this particular night.

The bartender at the other side of the counter comes closer to place a new drink in front of him, a small cup of scotch decorated with limes and indulged in cold ice. Ninomiya Kazunari, stares at it blankly before turning to the bartender.

"I didn't order another drink." he spits at him.

The Bartender takes no mind to his typical attitude and leans down at murmur's length. "Compliments from the lady." his head pointing slightly to the left side of the bar. 

Ninomiya's eyes cross over the gentlemen chatting beside him to find just what he meant; a young lady, her dress long and black, of simple straps, hair short to her round face, her eyes dull under her makeup and her lips bursting in her red lipstick. A hand fondled with her glass of wine. Her eyes were lost in sight, probably pretending to not have served a drink to him and now going into a second phase, where she were to flirt innocently with him as if she not paid him the slightest attention.

Ninomiya sighed. He had no desire to follow in her game right now. There were enough things in his mind and playing around with a woman was not in his top-things-to-do that night. Lately most of his evenings had been like this. A girl tries to flirt with him the entire night and she wont stop until he gives them what they want or scares them off with an obviously rude comment about her hair or get-up, or maybe even throw in the classic I'm-actually-gay line whenever he just didn't feel like doing much. Tonight was no different, except he had no intention of playing around and only wanted to continue his evening quietly without further ado.

He took the drink in his hand and stood from his chair, hoping no one would have taken it by the time he came back. He walked across the two gentlemen that sat beside him, approaching, without hesitations, the young lady's seat. His hand loudly dropped the drink in the counter in front of her, calling for her attention which she had given to him even before he stood up from his chair.

Her big flashy eyes landed in him, but he didn't back down, not even from the blush in her cheeks or the sight of her smooth face features up close under the club's dim lights. His eyes never parted hers, giving her his word firmly.

"Thank you but I don't need anyone to buy me drinks." after giving her a sly smile he was ready to spin on his heels to return to his chair when he heard her voice.

"Can't I buy a drink for a man if I wish so?" she asked, clearly not aware he wasn't in the mood for talks.

"Believe me, you shouldn't be buying drinks for just anyone." he suggested her, a slight sneering in his tone.

"Why? Is it so bad to show some interest?" she fought back, not giving in to his rejection.

"It is, if the other person is not particularly interested. Or perhaps interested in something else." he said, as a matter of fact.

"But what if I know I can spare some trust to this person?" she asked, not giving him much choice.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. You can take your drink back."

"I don't want it, I don't like scotch." she said, brushing it off for him to take it back.

"Too bad I not a big fan either."

"You're going to have to drink it anyway. The liquor here is expensive. It would be rude of you if you don't take it." she responded quickly.

"Or you could just try with someone else."

"You're a little rude." she said with a little sarcasm in her voice. "Is that how you normal talk to the girls in this place?"

"Just when I don't feel like talking." even with this kind of comments, he still wore a grin in his lips.

She didn't back down "How charming. You offend the girls before straying them. I've never heard of this kind of idols."

"I'm not easy to compare with."

The girl's head turns to him, looking at him directly, but never stopping to look at his eyes on her. She scans him from head to toe.

His brow couldn't help but rise, feeling a little intimidated by her bright eyes.

"What?"

"You're too easy to read if you ask me." she said with a laugh in her voice.

"Oh really?" his hands hid in his pockets, his words hidden in sarcasm, not taking her seriously. "And how is it that you can read people?"

"I take my time observing things." she drank fro her glass of wine, her eyes leaving him to look up at the canteen.

His eyes narrowed on her in a frown. Clearly she was just playing along with him, and now, although he had said he wouldn't, it had been enough to leave him standing next to her, in a certain way, catching his interest.

"Then, if you really are such a good observant, why would you think a drink was going to work on me?"

"I needed an excuse to make you come and talk to me." she replied dryly.

Ninomiya couldn't help bite his lower lip, hoping to hide his laugh. This laugh was not meant for her, but for himself, of how easy a fool this girl had made out of him. Still he had to give her credit. The girl had made him stand from his favorite chair in the counter, managed to start a conversation with him and even made him accomplice of her flirting against his own will. Suddenly, his night didn't seem as bad as it once looked.

He had no other choice than to take the seat next to her, thereupon ordering another drink from the bartender, both of them ignoring the presence of the glass of scotch between them. 

"You give up this easily?" she asks almost in mock.

He eyes her for a brief second, a smirk reflected in his lips.

"I'll buy you a drink and we'll be even." he offered.

"I thought I was buying for yours." she said, slightly disappointed he hadn't appreciated her thought.

"You bought my attention. I believe that's enough." his piercing eyes smiled to her, making her unable to fight back on his remark, although she didn't appear so in the outside. 

A smile as dangerous as his made her wonder what could be hidden behind it. What exactly was it about this stranger that made her tremble under her skin, shortening her breath? Her eyes scanned him now closely. He was probably not the perfect man, with a perfect height and a perfect body, but it was these imperfections what made him see all the more attractive and mysterious to her eyes.

The waiter he had called arrived by their counter space with a bottle and two cups, where he served the drinks for them. Ninomiya thanked him and he immediately left them.

Before putting the drinks on their lips, Ninomiya slightly rose his cup to hers in a quiet cheer, a gesture she shyly imitated. Suddenly, being next to him was not becoming as easy as it once seemed, not when he looked into her with those mesmerizing eyes of his.

Shaking off her thoughts, she tried to play along. 

"Tell me..." he began after he put down his drink. "What is a girl like you looking for in a place like this?" 

She puts down her own drink before answering. "Besides a drink and some ears to talk to?" she returns him the question slyly. "Perhaps a little fun to get away from my day." her hands play fondly with her glass.

"What about you? Do you have a life outside this bar, mister..."

"Ninomiya... call me Ninomiya."

"Ninomiya-san, then."

He sighed, thinking slowly on his response

"Well, I wouldn't really call it life you see. I think I feel more familiar between this strangers than what I do out there."

"Well, that's a very depressing thought, isn't it Ninomiya-san? Don't you have friends? A partner?"

He scoffed looking down at his drink. 

"I don't enjoy that type of thing."

"How is that? Wouldn't you rather be with whoever understands you better?"

A smile forms in his lips. "It doesn't work that way for me, actually. Besides, a total stranger would be much more interesting that listening to the same stories every day, isn't it?"

Her hands leave her glass to hold her chin as she drove a glance at him. 

"Are you a good listener?" she asks him.

"Depends..." his body leans in closer to hers. "...if what you want to say is even worth telling."

"You'd be amazed at what some of us hold in our heads." she replies, feeling familiar with this kind of gesture.

"Then what is it really that makes you so interesting." he admits it almost bluntly.

Her head turns away, trying to muffle a grin, while his darting eyes followed the move of her lips.

"I'm a journalist.”

"Ah... So a writer then? You must have a lot of things in your head."

"Quite often, but, at least, not right now."

"Aren't you an ironic one?" he became amused by this thought

"Well, I came here thinking I had to write another column about some other typical club, and their typical service, say how good it was and repeat this as much as it was necessary until someone is convinced there is no way I could be wrong. But... I have to say, this one in particular... has not disappointed me and I can at least have an easy mind right now.”

"Really? And how are you so sure it won’t disappoint you further on?”

"I'll tell you what I do know..." her fingers draw her hair behind her ear. "Your little band up there made quite the performance."

He laughs bluntly. "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"How so? It looked pretty good from down here."

"I don't know, I think that saxophone was a bit off today." he only lied to hide what really bothered him.

She couldn't contain a giggle. "Was it really?'

"Yeah, I think he was a little off today. You should see him any other night, but today was no good."

She laughs some more, wondering how close those people were to each other. 

"I don't know about you, but the piano wouldn't stop amazing me."

Kazunari raises an eyebrow, wondering where this game may come to.

"Is that so? How come?"

"I think... the way his hands moved across the keys was very elegant. Almost as if it were... mesmerizing."

He chuckles, enjoying this comment a lot more than what she ever thought he would.

"Then, I guess you would be glad to hear that is not the only thing my hands can do."

His whispered words takes her breath away, his piercing eyes locked in hers, never giving her permission to back down as she slowly realized how much the distance between each other had shorten. Her eyes dart away for a brief second to look down at his lips right at her reach. Still, this was neither the place nor the time, and as she just realized, not the right person.

She turns away, sighing at herself, trying to hide an emerging laugh. 

"I must be an idiot."

"Don't say that..."

"No... I really am. To think you would come with the slightest interest in me, when in reality, you just like listening to your own voice."

He laughs. This girl was even smarter than he thought "Does that make me a bad person?"

"It makes you arrogant if you ask me." she says this with a entertained smile in her lips.

"I thought you were having fun, since you were the one who wanted to talk to me, I may not be the only one who enjoys listening to my voice."

"You like manipulating other's thoughts too?"

"Do I? Well, then I guess it's working. I thought this was going to be harder. You mustn't be as hard as you look."

"And I look hard to you?"

"Hard to read through, yes, if I may admit. You're not like most women I've met here."

"How many times have you used that line on a girl?"

He stops to think, his head tilting to a side "About four times I guess."

"Well there is a difference between those girls and me."

"What is that?"

"I don't feel the need to wake up in a man's bed the next morning to admit I had a good time."

"So you're rejecting me just like that?"

"I am. Would you expect more of a girl as hard as me?"

"I had my little hopes... that even a girl like you..." his fingers brush the hairs out of her face. "... would relent some way."

"Wouldn't that make me like any other girl?" she ignores his obvious action to leave her out of breath.

"No. It would prove that it wasn't just any girl, but my own charm what keeps them coming."

"Then I'm glad your tests failed, Ninomiya-san."

"Who knows? The night's not over yet."

"It is." her hands search for her purse and she leaves a tab of money in the counter. "For me." 

Her hands had almost found the abandoned glass of scotch still standing between them, but she did nothing about it. With one last look at him, she stands from her chair. Holding her hand purse and night scarf in her hands.

"You are leaving so soon?"

There is a hidden smirk on her lips. "Of course. Men like you still have to learn to lose some time."

"Then..." he walks closer to her, leaving the bar's counter. "If you wouldn't be so attached to your morals, you would accept me in some way?"

She looks right into him. "You just don't give up, don't you?"

"I like to be optimistic." 

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're not getting what you want from me."

"How come I don't know your name yet?" he says almost too suddenly, seeming more desperate then he should have.

"I don't give my name to just anybody. Unlike you, I have people I trust more than others."

"So we are still strangers then?"

Her brows rose. "What's wrong? I thought you preferred strangers over your own friends."

"A stranger becomes known in the end."

"Then it's your lucky night, Ninomiya-san. Guess we'll be strangers for a little longer." 

She is turning away before he could even admit seeing her go. She walks across the bar, pass the chattering in the tables, and the people on the dance floor. The exit is waiting for her in the other end of the room.

Before he could realize it, he finds himself following her trail to the outside of the bar. People gathered by the entrance, a line of uninvited guest trying to get a glimpse inside, but she was clear amongst them, even through the dark of the chill night, her black dress shone out over others.

He grabs her arm, forcing her to turn towards him, their eyes meeting once again with a soft light reflecting their manures as if it were the first time they had seen each other.

"Let me take you home."

"I-I already said..."

"You can relent for one night. Just this once."

"Why should I?"

His words hesitate. "No woman has ever offered me a drink before."

She chuckles. "Do you feel special now?"

"I'm not too sure of what I feel."

"Your not very clever when it comes to reading other's feelings how should you be able to read your own?"

"One thing I do know, I feel it'll be bad if I let you leave."

"That only gives me all the more reason to."

"Why?" his hand had found hers as he tries to brush them with the tip of his fingers, calling for her touch.

"You don't know how to lose, Ninomiya-san."

A cab has stopped by the street side. The door has opened for her. Without hesitation, she parts from his reach, leaving the touch of his hand. She walks right up to the cab's back seat without a second thought. Before she goes in, she turns towards him one last time, gifting a smile and her soft eyes for him. 

"This doesn't feel like a good bye. More like... I'll see you later."

"I would like that." he is able to show a grin for her again, before she climbs in the cab with a last look at him through the window. The car drives off into the lighted streets, his eyes following her presence until she was gone from his reach.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hope you enjoyed this story. More chapters to come! R&R!


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